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Craftsman Y4000

#1

A

Anna_T

My Craftsman riding mower is a Y4000, and it is about 2 years old. Within the past three weeks, when I mow, I can only mow for about 25 minutes before the engine starts sputtering, ultimately dying if I try to engage the blades. Today I changed the oil, the oil filter, the air filter, the fuel filter, and one of the spark plugs (my fault, I only bought one, so I did what I could until I can get the second one). I started mowing again, and after about 25-30 minutes, it did the same thing.

What else do I need to check or replace?


#2

X-man

X-man

Anna_T said:
My Craftsman riding mower is a Y4000, and it is about 2 years old. Within the past three weeks, when I mow, I can only mow for about 25 minutes before the engine starts sputtering, ultimately dying if I try to engage the blades. Today I changed the oil, the oil filter, the air filter, the fuel filter, and one of the spark plugs (my fault, I only bought one, so I did what I could until I can get the second one). I started mowing again, and after about 25-30 minutes, it did the same thing.

What else do I need to check or replace?
Click to expand...

I believe you mean it's a YT4000

Could be possible that you're using stale gas or your carburetor needs to be cleaned. Just a guess.


#3

A

Anna_T

X-man said:
I believe you mean it's a YT4000

Could be possible that you're using stale gas or your carburetor needs to be cleaned. Just a guess.
Click to expand...

Yes, good catch X-Man. It is a YT4000 since it is a riding mower. I thought about the carburetor, but I'll be honest...I'm not sure where it is. I was prepared to clean it today, too, (had WD40 ready, a soft toothbrush, and everything), but the close I looked, the more nervous I got. When I followed the fuel line back towards the engine, I saw two things I thought it could be: (1) a small disk-shaped housing that (2) ran through a small metal box. I wasn't sure if the carburetor was in the plastic-looking black circular housing, or the metal box. And, I was running out of daylight.

I'm not sure if the gas is 100% gas, but I'm not doing anything different than I have in the last two years. So...I'm liking your carburetor idea a bit better than the gas. Any idea about which of those two things is the carburetor??


#4

X-man

X-man

Anna_T said:
Yes, good catch X-Man. It is a YT4000 since it is a riding mower. I thought about the carburetor, but I'll be honest...I'm not sure where it is. I was prepared to clean it today, too, (had WD40 ready, a soft toothbrush, and everything), but the close I looked, the more nervous I got. When I followed the fuel line back towards the engine, I saw two things I thought it could be: (1) a small disk-shaped housing that (2) ran through a small metal box. I wasn't sure if the carburetor was in the plastic-looking black circular housing, or the metal box. And, I was running out of daylight.

I'm not sure if the gas is 100% gas, but I'm not doing anything different than I have in the last two years. So...I'm liking your carburetor idea a bit better than the gas. Any idea about which of those two things is the carburetor??
Click to expand...

Typically the carburetor is under or behind the air filter so I would suggest looking around there. Now when it comes to cleaning the carburetor you wanna use carburetor/throttle body cleaner because WD40 is just a lubricant, plus WD40 is water-based. I'm not sure how hard it is to remove the carburetor because I've never cleaned my carburetor before, but my guess it shouldn't be too bad.


#5

T

taxidermist

I think you are losing spark from one of your coils. Usually a heat related problem like you are having.

Rob


#6

X-man

X-man

taxidermist said:
I think you are losing spark from one of your coils. Usually a heat related problem like you are having.

Rob
Click to expand...

That's another thing I was thinking was the spark. Maybe the heat from the engine is causing it to mess up?


#7

A

Anna_T

X-man said:
That's another thing I was thinking was the spark. Maybe the heat from the engine is causing it to mess up?
Click to expand...

I think I'll try replacing the other spark plug first, then. I still can't believe I only got one. What you're saying makes sense because if it were the carburetor, wouldn't that cause problems the whole time? (But it will also be easier to change out the last plug before I have to start taking real things apart!) I'll keep you updated on this saga!


#8

M

motoman

Anna, It seems the carburetor gets blamed on cars and other engines first while on cars it was usually something else. Before you remove things look at the troubleshooting tips this forum has generated and at least step through the easy ones if you can. Good luck. motoman


#9

A

Anna_T

motoman said:
Anna, It seems the carburetor gets blamed on cars and other engines first while on cars it was usually something else. Before you remove things look at the troubleshooting tips this forum has generated and at least step through the easy ones if you can. Good luck. motoman
Click to expand...

Thanks, Everyone, for the help. I changed the second plug today, and it seems to be working fine now. I'm not holding my breath until I mow again next week, but I'm hopeful. I also bought some carburetor cleaner "just in case", but I hope I can wait on that project. If I have to do that, I'll need guidance as to the best way to go about it. In the mean time, here are pictures of the old plugs I replaced.

Thanks again!

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#10

A

Anna_T

Re: Craftsman YT4000

Grrrr...back to running for about 20-25 minutes and then coughing,sputtering, and eventually dying. I'm going to have to check the forum to see if others have similar problems. One of the guys I work with suggested vapor lock, maybe? So it looks like I may be learning how to do a carburetor after all. :(


#11

T

taxidermist

do yourself a favor and buy 2 harbor freight in line spark testers and put them on your tractor. When it starts to sputter look at the spark testers and see if you lose spark.

Also fill the gas tank all the way to the rim and run it. If it dies way sooner than your fuel cap vent is plugged.

I dont think it is the carb as it runs fine for 25 min.


Rob


#12

metz12

metz12

i agree. It couldnt be the carb. i think it could be what your saying with the gas cap. but that would be too easy of a fix!


#13

Carscw

Carscw

metz12 said:
i agree. It couldnt be the carb. i think it could be what your saying with the gas cap. but that would be too easy of a fix!
Click to expand...

Ok when it starts to die take the gas cap off if it recovers and runs fine then it's the cap.

How long do you have to wait before it will start again?

It's not your carb.

Don't waste money on two spark testers.
Try the gas cap first then we will go threw the steps to test for spark if needed.

(( cowboy up and get over it ))


#14

Carscw

Carscw

Can you give me the model numbers off the engine. Then we will know if you have one or two coils.

(( cowboy up and get over it ))


#15

T

taxidermist

Carscw said:
Ok when it starts to die take the gas cap off if it recovers and runs fine then it's the cap.


Don't waste money on two spark testers.
Try the gas cap first then we will go threw the steps to test for spark if needed.

The spark testers would be the best 5$ ever spent to help figure out what is going on.
Click to expand...


#16

Carscw

Carscw

Yes the spark testers would be nice to have but really not needed.
And if the engine only has one coil then only one would be needed.

(( cowboy up and get over it ))


#17

A

Anna_T

Ok...I ran the thing dry, then added new gas (100% with no alcohol in it). Then, I started it up again (I usually had to wait about 30-45 min before it would start again), and loosened the gas cap a bit. It wirked for an hour solid!!! Yea! But...I'm going to mowcagain next week before I declare the problem solved, and get my (and your) hopes up again. Thanks for the encouragement NOT to do the carburetor yet. So far, I still not extremely excited about that prospect, so I'm grateful for the other suggestions! Y'all have been great help!


#18

T

taxidermist

look in the top of the cap for a small hole. It will be filled with dust. Clean it out with something small and make sure you can blow thru it.


#19

Fish

Fish

Anna_T said:
Ok...I ran the thing dry, then added new gas (100% with no alcohol in it). Then, I started it up again (I usually had to wait about 30-45 min before it would start again), and loosened the gas cap a bit. It wirked for an hour solid!!! Yea! But...I'm going to mowcagain next week before I declare the problem solved, and get my (and your) hopes up again. Thanks for the encouragement NOT to do the carburetor yet. So far, I still not extremely excited about that prospect, so I'm grateful for the other suggestions! Y'all have been great help!
Click to expand...

What was the weather like when you ran it? Sounds like you need to adjust your valves...

Fish


#20

Carscw

Carscw

I knew some one would say valves.

9 out of 10 people that ask for help end up adjusting the valves and still have the same problem.

If you have to adjust the valves every 50 or so hours then you have other problems.

700 plus hours on 4 engines and never needed to touch the valves.

(( cowboy up and get over it ))


#21

Fish

Fish

Carscw said:
I knew some one would say valves.

9 out of 10 people that ask for help end up adjusting the valves and still have the same problem.

If you have to adjust the valves every 50 or so hours then you have other problems.

700 plus hours on 4 engines and never needed to touch the valves.

(( cowboy up and get over it ))
Click to expand...

Wow!

Interesting post.


#22

M

motoman

Carscw said:
I knew some one would say valves.

9 out of 10 people that ask for help end up adjusting the valves and still have the same problem.

If you have to adjust the valves every 50 or so hours then you have other problems.

700 plus hours on 4 engines and never needed to touch the valves.

(( cowboy up and get over it ))
Click to expand...

Cars, what other problems do the people have who need to adjust their valves every 50 hours? Failing cam lobes? Not adjusting them properly last time? To go 700 hours what do you do , install hydraulic lifters? motoman

I know you are not sensitive and I am not putting you into a corner for further attack. :smile:


#23

Fish

Fish

Yeah, Briggs has had a lot of troubles with their Inteks, including failing cam lobes, rocker studs working loose, valves needing adjustment.

Attack away!!!!


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